St. Paul Pioneer Press tech blog by Julio Ojeda-Zapata

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St. Paul Pioneer Press tech blog by Julio Ojeda-Zapata

Minneapolis Wi-Fi gets speed boost

Here’s another reason for St. Paul residents to be tech-envious of their Minneapolis counterparts: These not only have citywide Wi-Fi service, but it may soon be dramatically faster than what currently exists.

U.S.Internet, a Minnetonka-based Internet provider, has long provided Wi-Fi service that blankets much of the city, but is not crazy fast — Think download speeds of 1, 3 or 6 megabits per second, depending on how much you’re paying and other factors.

But now the company is preparing to test a new version of its Wi-Fi that is supposed to be much faster — on the order of 25 to 50 megabits per second, provided users can meet physical-positioning, wireless-hardware and mobile-device requirements.

U.S. Internet announced on Reddit that it will shortly begin limited testing of the new service in parts of downtown Minneapolis. Company co-founder Travis Carter wrote:

After the testing period it is our intention to start deployment in Northeast Minneapolis. We have been working on this platform for almost two years and I can report I believe we have finally solved the Municipal Wireless problem that has plagued operators and users for years.

He added, in an e-mail to me just now:

Major improvements in speed, reliability and coverage. Hard to put into words how big of a step forward this technology is.

US Internet also provides fiber-based Internet service, and has recently announced major speed increases and expansion plans. None of these include St. Paul, but the company says it wants to expand eastward eventually.